Good grief, what a train wreck Junior and his team are.Not only can Junior not see his pit stall, he doesn't seem to be able to see where the leader of the race is. Never mind working out, Jr, get some glasses.He is reminding me of how awful he was in ARCA.

And his pit crew just sitting on the wall without anything to do. Seems to me they could at least have looked alive and offered their driver some encouragement. You don't see that on the other Hendrick teams.If I were Rick, there would be some not so nice words for them at the weekly meeting.

Perhaps Kyle is getting all of his bad luck out of the way early in the season and will not have any during the Chase this year.

Too bad for Ambrose. He's getting close to a win.And so is Stewart. It will be awesome to see Tony get his first win with his own team.

Truex may be out of a ride? Wonder who or if anyone will pick him up if he goes.

I am going to preface my statement by saying the Dale Earnhardt, Jr. needs to get it in gear. He is better that what he is showing on the track. Certainly he had some equipment issues, but he is his own worst enemy right now. I am a huge fan and very disappointed in his performance.

People need to abandon the double standard they give Jr. People always have something derogatory to say if he makes a mistake. If he misses his pit stall it is because he isn't focused. If he doesn't win races it is because he is overrated. Wake up people.

Kyle Busch was penalized for entering pit road too fast this past weekend. No one questions his skill or focus. Kyle Busch dominates a bulk of last season and then is no where to be found during the Chase. People say, "He's got a lot of talent and it takes losing a Championship to win one". Can you imagine if that was Dale, Jr.?

I think he needs to be cut a break. He is obviously putting way too much pressure on himself and it is starting to show. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. only wanted to be a race car driver. He didn't ask for this. Lets give the man respect for going out on the track and being a spokesperson for NASCAR. He has done his fair share of good.

if everyone watched the re play of the pit incident it wasnt entirely jrs fault how could he have seen his pit when the sign for his pit was clearly layin on the ground

oh what a crock.

come on. Junior just wants to be a race car driver?

Then why is his face and image plastered on everything. Junior Inc. works full time to splash him everywhere and collect every possible check imaginable (i.e. Men's perfume?)

He wants to be NASCAR's biggest corporate shill, fine. I don't begrudge him a nickle. He sure works harder off the track shilling than he ever did on track. But spare me "the woe is Junior and his terrible publicity" schtick.

Entering Pit Road too fast? The best of the best do that. ie: Jimmie Johnson.

Missing your pit? Now twice in the first seven races of the season? Lack of focus? Poor attitude? Or, just plainly bad!

For "Earnhardt Jr.". The pressure he put on himself was this. "I could win regularly if I was in good equipment." Remember that?

Could it be that TE had it right all along? Maybe he really does need to decide it he wants to be a celebrity, or be a race car driver.

Jennifer, you really need to get the facts before you write an article. Concerning the missed pit stop, please hear this from Jr just after the race: "We were already last in line on the lead lap. We come down pit road and all the lapped cars were in their stalls and didn't want to get t-boned by one of them. I didn't get it in the stall so we just went around and came back in, that time pit road was empty." Perhaps you would be more believable if your stories consisted of facts. Just for the record, Jr had an eye exam when he took his physical in Feb. His eyes are fine, thank you very much.

FROM JEN: "I didn't get it in the stall so we just went around and came back in, that time pit road was empty." Let's make sure all the drivers are aware that Junior prefers an empty pit road. Seriously. Thanks for commenting, Ginger. I got the press release with this info in it. But in my opinion, he made a mistake.

I think Hendrick knows exactly what he has and loves it. He has a guy that won't interfere with his winning drivers. He has a guy that could sell #$@* in a box if it were stamped with his name. And he has a guy that gets his sponsors plastered all over TV when he does stupid things on the racetrack. Sounds like Hendrick is a genius.
It should have been no surprise to Jr or Eury that there would be cars on pit road with him. Based on what I saw, he flat out missed his pit. I can't wait for him to get his yearly fuel mileage win (to justify his existence) so people will stop talking about him. As far as being a good spokesperson for Nascar, he only shows that you can race with a pedigree instead of talent or ambition.

Other than that, it was an ok race. I thought Carl was going to get them at the end, but that pit stop killed him. Tony is looking really strong, as is Montoya. Kyle really needs to get these fast mile and a halves figured out soon.

Glad to see that some "race" fans are starting to see what apparently TE saw a few years back. Jr. lost his fire within a couple years after we lost Dale. Jr. has said himself that he got into racing to impress his dad and get his dads attention. That's gone and so is the fire to get him up on the wheel and winning races. Not going to happen, Nation.

Jr was at his best when he had his father's boot up his butt. I was really hoping Rick would fill that void.

Next year's Chase will be expanded to 20 entries to make sure Jr is in.

I really dont know what jr's problem is right now, focus desire,glasses, who knows. But his pedigree didnt get him his 17 or 18 wins.
The fast mile and a half tracks are not KBs only problem. Lets not forget why he went laps down, temper temper temper. Running his car into the side of Andretti and cutting his own tire was about as smart as missing your pit stall, with about the same results.
I think the new tire compound is making a difference on whos running well right now.
As far as the TE comments, DEI/Gannassi have not been exactly stellar.

justracethecar

Frank: I do not call that a crock. I call that capitalism and you would do the same thing if you were in that position.

The Old Guy: I totally agree that he put pressure on himself. That is why I included it in my post.

Son of Race Fan: If Junior races in NASCAR each week solely because of his family's name, then how can you explain that Kerry Earnhardt, Kenny Wallace, Mike Wallace, Steven Wallace, Kyle Petty, and Justin Labonte are not in the Cup series this year? That's right, it is because they do not have the talent.

and finally:

Racefan: Junior was best in 2003 when he finished 3rd in the points and 2004 when he won a series high 6 Cup races. These two seasons were well after the death of his father.

The problem with people that do not like Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is that they do not look at the facts. When you do, you find that he is more talented than you are willing to give him credit for. Junior's average finish in Cup is 16.7. This is better than former Champions Kurt Busch (17.7), Dale Jarret (17.24), and Bobby Labonte (17.34).

Terry Labonte is comparable at 16.3 and Matt Kenseth is a little more than a position ahead at a 15.01 average finish.

Is this conversation finished?

cant argue with that

justreadthefacts

A championship will go a long way towards stopping critics.

Nascar.com shows that his average finish from 2000 to 2004 was 15.4. His average finish since has been 17. So, in his "old age", his average is going down. I wonder if the same could be said for Bobby and Kyle and Dale Jarrett?
As if I really need to do this...
Kerry Earnhardt hasn't made an effort to drive Cup full time.
Stephen Wallace and Justin Labonte are still young. What did Justin drive, like 10 Busch races?
Kyle drove Cup for twenty years.
Mike and Kenny are not exactly poster children for Cup rides. They have made appearances throughout the years.
The funny thing is that these were the best examples to compare Jr to.
Lets be honest for one second. He is in THE best equipment in Nascar. He should be winning or battling for a win almost every week. I don't hate the guy. I'm just saying he takes his ride for granted. I said it last year when he took the ride from Hendrick. He has no excuses now. I don't want to hear any.

you just made the million dollar statement son of racefan. if he wins just one championship he will get the monkey of his back.

what is frustrating is i haven't heard Earnhardt make any excuses. this year i think he put big pressure on himself and he hasn't performed which is why you are seeing him make mental mistakes like missing his pit stall. i just hope he can get it together because he can be a great racer. i just hate it when people say he got in on his name alone and has no talent. Good debate.

I think everyone expected too much with the team change. Who knows how long it will take to click, if it does. Its been a while since gordon wrapped up a champoinship or even a win. We dont seem to spend nearly the time debating him.

I never said he got into racing because of his name. And I like Junior and am very disappointed that he can't seem to get his act together. I was sure going to HMS would be a good thing. All the drivers are under pressure, that's no excuse. I could care less if he ever wins a championship. He should at least be showing that he could. His best racing may have been after the death of his father but then he had his uncle running the show. Eury Sr would have been just as tough as Dale Sr.

Kerry never looked for a full time ride. Too bad because he is quite good. He also has not been in because of a lack of sponsorship. I believe that is why some of the Wallaces are not racing at the moment too. Every team out there is at risk for losing their sponsors with this economy. All the more reason to get your car up to the front and get that tv time and the $$$.

Richard let Kyle just ride around for years and do nothing. Enough said on that subject.

If I thought Junior could get along with another crew chief, I think he should have one. Eury, Jr is one of the best around for setting up a car, but he lacks management skills judging by the performance of that crew. Someone needs to start cracking a whip.

Racefan, I think you also made the million dollar statement. I wish he could have Eury Sr. sitting on top of his pit box. Again, the numbers don't lie and Earnhardt had 16 victories with the old man running the show. He has had two (in the last 3 years) with the son. My hope is that Hendrick will make the proper adjustments to the team to gain success.